The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for cleaning bowling balls and, more particularly, to an electrically driven aluminum structured sweat box that removes oil and dirt from bowling balls.
Oil build up on bowling balls (typically made of plastic, reactive resin, urethane, or a combination thereof) causes the bowling ball to lose its performance capability and “hookability” over time, which is the most important function of a reactive bowling ball. Reactive bowling balls have cores inside the ball which is dynamically imbalanced to cause the ball to try to stabilize as it is rolling down the bowling lane. This makes the ball roll over a different point on the surface every time it revolves and flares or causes multiple rings of oil as it travels down the lane. Over time, this oil builds up and clogs the pores of the bowling ball. In order to maintain maximum performance, these types of bowling balls must have the oil and dirt accumulation extracted from the pores in order to function at the highest performance potential for which it was designed.
There are many horror stories of how to remove oil from bowling balls. People have desperately tried all sorts of things, from putting the ball in ovens, cat litter, dishwashers, microwaves, heat lamps, sitting in the sun for hours, putting in a hot car trunk in hot summer heat, soaking it in a bucket or tub of hot water, and the like. None of these processes, however, are the most effective way of removing dirt and oil from the bowling ball; nor are they good for the bowling ball.
A conventional dry heat process is used for cleaning bowling balls. This process, however, is known to remove some of the plasticizers from the ball, which is undesirable because the plasticizers help the reactive ball to “hook”. This process is often performed in pro shops because of its cost, large size and unavailability for home use to the general bowling public (league, casual, pro bowlers, etc.). Additionally, pro shops can charge, for example, $30-50 per visit to put a bowling ball through this cleaning process. Pro Shops are also far, few and in between, making it inconvenient for bowlers to get the proper maintenance for their bowling balls as recommended.
Another conventional system provides a hot water bath (immersing the ball completely in water) for the bowling ball to be cleaned in. Such systems, however, may result in water not getting fully removed from the ball, for example, staying in the finger holes of the ball and getting into the pores, resulting in the user having to wait before use for the ball to dry, or try to manually dry the ball after cleaning.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved method and system for removing dirt and oil from a bowling ball. There is also a need to make this method/equipment available to the general bowling public.